


Nobody to blame

by NightingalesAndHandGrenades (NightingalesAndLions)



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-08 01:37:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6833470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightingalesAndLions/pseuds/NightingalesAndHandGrenades
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They are finally on their way home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nobody to blame

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mols](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mols/gifts).



They have reached an unspoken agreement. Neither of them is going to mention the war, Europe or even Easy till they are in Nixon. Dick is fine with that, his mind calm as the view slides past outside the window of the seemingly never ending train journey. Nixon. Dick smiles, looking from the window to Lew sitting just across him fast asleep. He looks at peace for once, but Dick knows his partner inside out now to know that the demons they have acquired in Europe will be around for a while.

Partner.

The word sounds unfamiliar to his own ears, but it doesn’t make him cringe. He likes the sound of it, even if he cannot say this to anyone. He is in love with this impossible man who sleeps like a baby in the loudest of trains and in a position that simply cannot be comfortable.

“You know what this means, Dick?” he remembers Lew’s drunken question back on the ship that was carrying them home.

Dick had been hauling Nix back to his bunk, trying not to run into anyone and apologizing left and right, not that anyone cared anyway.

“Tell me, Nix, what does this mean?” he had decided to humor his drunk lover.

“This means we actually have a chance at… this” Nixon had mumbled, waving a hand between them. 

Now Dick can actually say that he knows they have a chance at whatever they started at the Eagle’s Nest. He doesn’t know how long it is going to last, but he has to give it a chance. 

“I can hear you thinking over here,” Nixon’s voice is a grumble, but Dick smiles.

Nixon’s eyes open, still full of sleep, but he’s grinning and Dick really wants to kiss him then and there. He knows that it’s a bad idea, suicidal even, but Lew’s eyes say that he understands. For all his faults, Nixon is one hell of a smart man, and he is not going to do anything either of them later could regret.

Maybe they can settle down somewhere and buy a little piece of land. Dick wants to live the rest of his life in peace. He knows there will be expectations of children and a wife, but he pushes this betraying thought to the furthest corner of his brain and looks out of the window once more.

It’s the same land, but it’s different. It has moved on and Dick doesn’t know if there is a place for men like him, like Lew. He involuntarily thinks of Carwood and Ron, Babe and both of their medics. All of the boys he could safely return into the arms of their families and their country.

He thinks of Muck and Penkala and suppresses a shudder. Too many have been left in the Europe snow. He’s not as articulate with his words as Webster, but he wants to write about the war, about his men. Mostly he wants to write about the bravery of soldiers, the joy that the peace can bring and the land that moved on without them. 

“Dick, stop,” he feels Lew’s fingers touch his wrist. “It’s not your fault”.

He wants to ask how Lewis knows, but the other man just shakes his head and grasps his fingers. 

“You did everything you could, Richard. It was hell… and you helped our boys get back here. There is nothing to blame yourself for”.

Dick squeezes his eyes shut for a second, feeling Nixon’s fingers and soaking up the warmth they offer.

“Thank you for bringing me home, Lew”.

_I love you_


End file.
